We Are Thankful

It has been a wonderful week gearing up for Thanksgiving. We have been discussing the meaning of Thanksgiving and have been writing, writing, writing about all the things we are thankful for.

I am most thankful for your child. I am incredibly grateful for their smiling faces and happy laughs. They have grown so much in the first 65 days of school, and their love for writing has grown tenfold overnight. The Cottontails were eager to brainstorm their thankful for ideas in their "Seed Journals". Then they picked four items to list on their "Thankful Leaves". What I was most impressed was their eagerness to use their "kid-spelling". Their writing confidence was at an all time high, and they were so excited to write on their own. When finished with the leaves, I asked, "Friends, would you like to move into Centers or would you like to spend some more time writing about what you are thankful for?"



They all responded with, "We want to write some more!"

So, I quickly gathered the supplies for the writing activity I had planned for the next day and we continued to write some more. This time we wrote on feathers for our Feast centerpieces. They were excited to continue to write about how thankful they are. Cottontails are thankful for…
~ family
~ friends
~ their homes
~ clean water
~ penguins
~ teachers
~ school





As we finished our writings, we talked about their next steps. They were so excited to see their "Thankful Leaves" on display for friends and families to see, and they were eager to hear about how we would use their "Thankful Feathers". The next day we continued to discuss the feathers they so eagerly created. When we realized that they would go on our pumpkin turkeys and that because of this not all of their writing would be seen we began to talk about ways to make our work even better. An unexpected discussion of revision occurred and the Cottontails were eager to try writing on feathers again, this time paying closer attention to where they wrote on the feathers ensuring that their writing would be seen when adhered to the turkey's pumpkin body. When they realized that we'd be able to see both sides of the feathers on the centerpieces they asked, "Can we write on the backs, too?"

While in awe of their excitement, I eagerly replied, "Of course, friends! Of course!"

It goes to show how meaningful authentic writing pieces can be. Give a child a topic that they care about and they will run with it. They were engaged, they were excited, and they quickly became confident writers! This small moment in our classroom will leave a large impact on my heart. Thank you for allowing me to share these moments with your child. I am truly thankful!!

PS: Be sure to check out our Thankful Tree and your child's touching handprint leaves. Also, your child's Thankful Feathers will be a part of their larger Pumpkin Turkey centerpiece for our K-6 feast. Centerpieces will go home on Tuesday so you can further enjoy your child's beautiful work and writing over your Thanksgiving Break. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!